And the Rose Bloomed
by Mad Man in the Flesh
Summary: She had been fighting Salem and her influence for years. And it all ended in an explosion of epic proportions. And now she was back before it all began. Well, Ruby Rose wasn't going to let this opportunity pass her. And so begins the tale of the last Silver Eye Warrior. Sort of. Seasons may not fear the Reaper, but a Witch does. Time Travel AU!


**Hey everyone, it's Mad Man in the Flesh here with a new story! Been gone for a while, been very busy with University lately and haven't had much time to do much writing at all, just making sure everything stays on Fanfiction and doesn't expire.**

 **Anyway, I've wanted to try my hand at a pure RWBY Fanfiction for a while and so with the end of Volume 4, I thought I might just give it a shot. This has been in my head and on my laptop since Volume 3, so let me know what you all think of it. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Flames are not.**

 **Hope you enjoy.**

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 **Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by RoosterTeeth. Not myself.**

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Ruby Rose stared around the destroyed courtyard of Beacon, remembering the days when she was just a fifteen year old girl and coming to Beacon for the first time with her sister. Back then, the world was fun and games. Nothing could have went wrong back then from her eyes. She could only see the fame that had surrounded the Hunters. That's what she fell in love with. She just never seen the despair that followed afterwards. Ten years ago, she was made leader of Team RWBY. Now she was one of the the last of the Hunters of Vale still alive. Fighting the good fight. And she knew this was her final fight.

Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Coco Adel and herself. They were all that remained from Beacon. And she had sent them off to the snow of Atlas to protect the last survivors of Vale from the Maiden War. How naive she had been to think the world was a bright and happy place. Now it was a Grimm infested world she stood in. Grimm roamed the streets of Vale, looking for anyone left behind while the Grimm of Beacon were watching her as she walked through the broken fortress towards their mistress. The Salem Witch. The one who had started this war. And she was standing just outside the Tower of Beacon where the Dragon still hung from, a mocking smile on her face as she watched the red hooded hunter approach.

"Ruby Rose. As I live and breathe." Salem said. "I'm honoured to be in your presence, Red Reaper. Or do you prefer Silver Devil? Or maybe the Bloody Maiden? Any work for me." Her voice was low and sultry, but Ruby could hear the mocking in her voice as she spoke. All Salem had lost were but pawns she could create in moments. Even Cinder was but a pawn in the end after Ruby and separated the False Maiden's legs from her body and Salem had reduced her but to nothing but ashes, not even blinking as Cinder screamed in agony. Ruby on the other hand, had lost everything. Taiyang and Qrow had died to give her and Yang the chance to escape Patch, even managing to take the Mad Witch's left arm in the process. A wound that had never healed on the Witch. Yang died a few months later when Salem had sent a sea of Grimm after the brawler. The last Ruby saw of her sister was her blonde hair going down under a wave of black then a titanic explosion that reduced the area to a crater.

"I came like you asked. Not to talk." Ruby said coldly as she drew Crescent Rose from her back and extended it into her trusty scythe and held it in her customary ready position, the blade pointing behind her and ready to pull the trigger of the built in sniper. Salem smiled at the red hooded girl as she lifted her right hand and dark energy gathered in her hand and formed into the shape of a sword.

"True. Come now. Embrace your demise." Salem said, the smile on her face constantly mocking Ruby and all those who had died before this. Ruby would make sure she killed the Witch. The area was silent for several seconds as both warriors stared at one another. Then they moved. Ruby kicked off the ground, her semblance kicking into action as she blazed forward, intent of cutting the women in half, her speed augmented by the force of her sniper and she cracked the ground behind her. She vaguely remembered a time were that only happened when she built up enough speed. Salem's own push wasn't as strong or did she move as fast, but she was able to track the movement of Ruby's scythe and blocked it with the edge of her blade, sparks emitting from Crescent Rose as the scythe continued on its path and Salem took a stab at her abdomen when she was open.

Ruby, spotting the blade going for her stomach, fired a second shot from Crescent Rose, using the recoil to twirl gracefully away from the blade and put enough distance between her and Salem as the silver edge of her scythe came around once again, coming down from Ruby's right to left, hoping to catch Salem's arm. Her hope was in vain as Salem jumped away from the blow, her smile now gone as the Queen of Grimm took the fight more seriously. It seemed she had forgotten that the girl's father and uncle had taken her arm from her and her sister had destroyed a thousand Grimm in her final stand. Ruby felt a dark smile spread across her features. And then they charged.

Ruby spun her scythe expertly. The years of mastering the weapon on the fields of battle coming into play as she created a dome around her from the speed she twirled Crescent Rose, blocking every strike Salem tried to use to breach her guard. But Ruby wasn't able to breach Salem's either. The Witch's speed was no laughing matter. And it was starting to annoy Ruby that she couldn't land a hit. And the same was said for Salem. It was only a matter of time before one of them tapped into more power.

Salem broke the stale mate as she thrusted forward and let loose a dark blast of energy from the tip of her sword that Ruby narrowly dodged, and the screams of hundreds of Grimm dying and buildings collapsing gave good testament to Salem's power. Ruby didn't watch to see what it had hit as she tapped into the power of the Silver Eyes and the Fall Maiden, feeling their powers roar to life within her veins as the energy bleed out of her eyes in small wisps, her left eye silver and the right eye gold. And then she let loose a stream of air from the next swing of Crescent Rose which was blocked by a Beowolf Salem conjured between them and only managed to rustle her dress. But her red eyes had narrowed at Ruby in annoyance that the young women wouldn't die. And so she began to flood her veins with her own dark power to counter the Huntress in front of her.

Ruby aimed her scythe at the Witch in front of her and fired, imbuing the round with power of the Maiden, the bullet leaving a trail of fire in the air, Salem dodging to the left to avoid the deadly round which ripped the ground up with the explosion it created. But Ruby had bought enough time to retract Crescent Rose into the sniper form, thankful for once that she had switched the bolt action for an automatic loading for this fight. As it allowed her to grab her second weapon and move over to Salem who was getting up from her roll. And she placed the barrel of Mercy, General James Ironwood's trusty revolver on her stomach and flooded the pistol with Aura from her Silver Eyes and fired three shots.

There was no way for the pale woman to dodge these shots and they viciously ripped through her torso, creating a large hole where Salem's stomach used to be and splattering the ground with black blood as the woman's eyes widened in shock and pain, the sword disappearing from her hand as she clutched uselessly at the gaping hole as she collapsed to her knees. Atlas Military were always researching Aura and its uses. And in Ironwood's revolver were rounds designed to negate Aura to an extent. The closer the target, the more effective it was. Her silver eyes just helped the stopping power of these rounds. Ruby could never be more thankful for the dead General gifting her his weapon as she brought the red eyed woman to her knees.

"It's over." Ruby spoke as she unfurled Crescent Rose again and placed the blade around the woman's throat. "Your plans die here and now." Salem laughed at the statement, blood falling out of her mouth as she laughed.  
"I know it's over, simple soul. Not even I can come back from such a wound. But you are naive enough to think mankind will survive as well. Your Kingdoms are divided. Your warriors dead. The world is in panic and you think it will be okay?"  
"At the moment, you're correct." Ruby said coldly, her silver eyes glaring down at the woman who knelt before her who was surprised at her words. "But mankind will continue on. It always has. We will come back from this. Vale will be reclaimed and you'll be nothing but a foot note on the books of history. Too bad you won't be here to see it." She drew back Crescent Rose, the deadly silver blade glinting harshly in the moonlight.

"And neither shall you!" Salem roared as she thrusted her hands down on the stone, an inky black substance rolling off her hands and into the ground until it looked like they were standing on oil. Ruby's eyes widened in shock at the last desperate attack of her enemy and she called upon all her powers as Maiden and Silver Eyes, the power manifesting as wings behind her back that stretched out six foot and the blade descended on Salem's neck.

Ruby didn't know what happened next. All she could remember was the blade touching Salem's neck before there was an explosion that shamed even Yang's before nothing. Yet, even in her death, she was content.

 _'Looks like I went back on our promise. Lead the world right, Jaune.'_ Those were Ruby Rose's last thoughts before her vision went white and she felt her body exploded with pain.

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Then her body was meet with the soft and cold feeling of snow as she lay in a snow bank, her tattered red cloak spreading across the snow like a pool of blood while her black hair surrounded her like a halo. Ruby looked up to the sky for several seconds, unblinking as she processed where she was and what she had just done several moments ago. Then she sat up straight and fumbled for her scroll on her hip only to find the fragile object snapped in half. She cursed the object loudly for a minute, insulting its creator and the flimsy materials it was made from but she ultimately kept the device just in case. Any of the Kingdoms would be able to extract the information from it. She would be able to tell the Kingdoms that Salem was dead!

Ruby was filled with elation at the thought. Salem was dead! She had killed Salem! Dead! Ruby laughed at the thought, the years of constant fighting and death had finally come to an end. Salem's madness had been stopped and she was alive to help bring the world right once more. Ruby stood up straight, ignoring the protests of her body at such a movement. She needed to find a village and ask what Kingdom she was in. For all she knew, she could either be in the north of Vale or in Atlas. Most likely Atlas.

Ruby gave out a happy sigh as she flopped backwards into the snow, a happy grin on her face as she let the cold of the snow ease the pain in her body as she stared into the night sky. And felt her breath hitch in her throat.

Following the fall of Vale, Atlas began to work on SAM satellites that would link with Atlas Academy and were able to cover the entire continent for the threat against Salem and her minions. But due to Atlas' overall size, thousands of these floating SAMs had to be built. What this amounted to was a near impenetrable automated defense. And also you could always see two together. Ruby could see none floating around the sky which shouldn't have been possible. Salem barely came anywhere near Atlas in the three years she personally led her attacks. They should have been swarming the air, waiting for the inevitable Grimm strike.

"Where am I?" Ruby questioned, standing up with worry crossing her face, her hands subconsciously reaching for Crescent Rose, only to find it wasn't there. "Oh come on." She whined as she pulled Mercy out from the holster she placed it in, thankful to have some form of weapon on her. "Now to find out where I am?" She muttered to herself as she began her trek through the forest that surrounding her, hoping she was heading north towards the capital.

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Five hours later, Ruby Rose woke up in a warm and comfortable bed with a white ceiling directly above her and bright lights which forced her to close her silver eyes for a moment until she adjusted and even then, she was still squinting to take a look around the room. White walls, bright lights and multiple beds that were either empty or held someone in them and men and women in pristine white clothing walking about and Ruby was able to determine she was in a hospital somewhere in Atlas. Although, that left the question as to how she got here.

Ruby sat up in the bed, a soft moan of pain escaping her lips as her body protested the movement due to her exhaustion and many of the doctors noticed the black haired woman moving and moved to intercept her to get her to lie down. Ruby was having none of that as she swung her feet to the floor and stood up strongly... before promptly falling on her face as she took one step. Seems she wasn't as strong as she thought she was.

"Ma'am, please let us return you to your bed." A nurse said as she attempted to place Ruby back on the bed. "You had severe Aura exhaustion and were close to developing hypothermia when a patrol found you unconscious in the snow." So that's what happened.

"No, need to speak with General Lapzuli." Ruby muttered as she threw the women's arm off her and and sent small amounts of her Aura through her muscles to combat the exhaustion. "It's urgent."  
"Do you mean Sergeant Lapzuli? She's in Mistral for a year on deployment." Something was definitely wrong. Anna Lapzuli was made the General of Atlas' forces following the death of James Ironwood when the man had finally succumbed to a poison placed in him directly by Salem. Now she was a Sergeant. And in Mistral. Something was glaringly wrong with all this.

Was this a trick of Salem? The Witch could create illusions better than Emerald Sustrai herself, making people believe they were reality. Until she could determine anything, she had to get out of this hospital and out into the main area of this place, then she could determine if this was real or not. And so she drove her fist into the nurse's solar plexus and bolted for the door, shouts of alarm close on her heels.

Ruby barged through the hospital doors, the reinforced plastic shattering due to the speeds she was going but even then, steel doors infused with Dust were closing down her exits and corralling her towards the training arenas if this base was built like an actual Atlesian Military base and Ruby didn't want to run into one of those doors again while going near the speed of one hundred miles an hour. The headache she got, despite the look on Ironwood's face, was not worth it. But they were closing off all her avenues of escape and quickly at that. And this confirmed to Ruby this wasn't an illusion. This was real. What had Salem done to her with that explosion?

"Halt in the name of Atlas-" Was as far as the soldier got before Ruby drove her bare foot into his face, breaking the helmet he was wearing and also his nose, causing a spurt of blood before she pushed off his falling form and drove both her knees into a female wolf Faunas, knocking them both to the floor. Ruby rolled to absorb the impact and was on her feet in seconds, her right hand grabbing the bottom of a Dust rifle and pushing it upwards, redirecting the rounds skywards before she viciously ripped it from the owners hands before smacking the butt of the weapon into their face, the force put behind the strike knocking the soldier out before she whipped round with a kick, slamming her heel into the helmet of the Faunas, the force of the blow sending her spinning to the ground.

Ruby didn't stop, knowing that they were still alive as she blazed into her semblance once more and took a sharp right into the large indoor training room where she was met with a robotic arm slamming into her chest. Her momentum carried her legs forward while her torso bent around the arm that stopped her, causing her to flip painfully onto her stomach and into the centre of the room. The next second she was on her feet and glaring at the one who stooped her and her mind went blank as she stared at the younger version of General James Ironwood and Atlas Specialist Winter Schnee. Both of whom were long dead. To her at least.

"Winter." Ruby whispered out, staring at the white haired woman... who was now charging at her with her rapier! Ruby was quick in dodging the blow by jumping to the side and then by moving her head to the left to avoid the deadly point of the blade. A younger Ruby Rose with very little experience would have been unable to react to any of Winter's fast strikes. But this was a Winter who also had little experience and used fighting techniques that Ruby was intimately familiar with, even the ones that she hadn't invented yet.

With a quick two step, Ruby was inside Winter's guard and had grabbed her arm, too quick for the white haired Specialist to react before Ruby struck with her left foot, hitting Winter's stomach with full force and blowing her away. And taking the rapier from the Schnee's hand in the process. Her instincts flared to life and she pushed backwards, avoiding the shot from Ironwood's revolver, the fire dust weaved into the pistol creating a large explosion just a few yards in front of her.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you two were trying to kill me." Ruby said as she used Winter's rapier to deflect several of her Nevermore conjurations and redirected the General's next shoot to her left and towards Winter who was forced away by the explosion.

"Then it's a good thing we are not trying to do that." Ironwood said, yet his revolver never wavered from her chest. "We understand that you are scared and confused suddenly waking up here. If you surrender peacefully then we will explain everything that has happened since you came in and you could tell us what happened to bring you here."  
"This isn't a trick or anything? I can go free after this?"  
"Depends on whether you are a threat or not." Ironwood said and the room was engulfed in silence for a few moments before Ruby threw Winter's weapon, Icicle, back to the white haired woman who caught it and held it low. "Stand down." Ironwood spoke into a comm unit on his wrist and the sound of several rifles moving caused Ruby to look up and see ten soldiers moving sniper rifles away from the edge.

"I'm going to need my effects if we're going to be having this conversation. Don't really want to talk to you in a hospital gown." Ruby joked with a smile.

"Specialist Schnee, escort her back to the infirmary then bring her to my office. You have fifteen minutes before I decide to throw you in a cell." James Ironwood, General of Atlas said with ice in his voice before he turned from the room and walked away swiftly.

"Ray of sunshine, he is." Ruby muttered to herself as she began the walk back to the infirmary with Winter following behind with her rapier still drawn and her eyes firmly on the back of her head. This wasn't going to be fun.

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James Ironwood sat behind his mahogany desk, staring intently at the gun metal gray doors, waiting for the unknown Huntress to walk through the doors of his office. He had no idea who she was as blood tests were unable to be taken due to her ridiculously high Aura levels and the fact that any and all blood or tissue samples they took deteriorated to quickly to be ran through the machines. Then there was the fact that she was found unconscious in the snow five miles out and clutching his weapon. Or at least her version of it. The lab boys were currently inspecting it and taking it apart along with using carbon dating to find out how old it truly was. This Huntress was a complete and utter mystery. One he was going to find out.

He was drawn from his thoughts by the whoosh of the doors opening and he looked up to see the huntress walking in, a small smile on her face and looking very different. The woman was wearing a form fitting black shirt, combined with a red corset that was tightened across her stomach and held small sheathes for blades made for throwing and was finished by combat skirt that was accented in red and was ended with white fur around her wrists and the edge of the skirt, which held a belt holding her personal emblem of a rose on fire. An odd symbol but most Hunters were. Over her shoulders was a bright red cloak that ran down to her ankles was fastened by two small silver crosses and the hood too was lined with white fur before the outfit was completed by a heavy pair of black stockings and black combat boots that once held a deep red sheen to them that had faded over time. But it was her hair and eyes that drew the General's attention. For he had only seen them on two people in his life. Summer Rose and his god-daughter, Ruby Rose. Only they had black hair with red tints to the tips and silver eyes. Eyes the General had seen in action. Was this woman a lost descendant of the Rose clan and the Silver eyed warriors?

"So, you promised to tell me why I'm here? Then I'll tell you my story." The woman said, flopping down into the seat opposite him with an impish smirk on her face while Winter clenched her teeth and glared angrily at the woman for her disrespect.

"You are currently at Orange Fox. One of our bases in Atlas specialising in research and development. You were found five miles from the bases, unconscious in the snow after our scanners picked up an energy reading two miles south of where you were found. You were the only living soul in the area to when that event occurred so you are the only witness as to what happened. We were going to question you when you woke up but you ran off and we had to put the base in lock down for security reasons." Ironwood said, leaning forward in his chair and staring the woman in the eyes. "Now for your story. Who are you, what is your mission and why are you here?"  
"Now that is a long story. To start, I'm going to give you something to help prove what I'm going to say. So trust me, this is a dozy." The woman said as she brought her left foot into her lap and revealed a secret compartment under the heel and removed a small metal USB stick.

A Hunter's Log. A culmination of every Hunter's mission. What the mission was, time of beginning and completion, where it was and the outcome of the mission. Personal files like name, place of residence and medical files were stored on this one piece of technology. It was the most guarded item of every single Hunter and Huntress in active and inactive duty. And she was giving it to him. As a sign of faith. Who was he to this woman?  
Ironwood moved forward and took the small device from her hand and plugged it into his personal computer, waiting for the information to come up but the woman wasn't going to wait for him to get all the information as she started talking again.

"My mission was to hunt down the woman known as Salem, otherwise known as the Witch or Queen of the Grimm, given to me directly by Headmaster Lucius Ozpin of Beacon Academy. I was sent to eliminate her and any known allies of hers before it was too late. I am here because something went wrong when I was in combat with the woman and she cast some form of magic that I don't know of. I think it was meant to kill me but it failed and brought me here instead. And my name..." A soft ping escaped Ironwood's computer and he glanced over to it as he took in the first few lines of the Huntress' records and felt his mouth go slack in shock. "Is Ruby Rose, Commander of the Allied Forces of Remnant, The Fall Maiden and the last Silver Eyed Warrior. I'm from ten years in the future after a spell of Salem's backfired. And I need you to listen to me, god-father." Ruby Rose said, a fire of determination blazing in her silver eyes. "Because things are going to be bad if you don't."

"I'm listening." Ironwood said and he listened to the form of his god-daughter as she told him of a war torn world. Of how Beacon fell due to the woman known as Cinder Fall, a false Maiden who stole the powers. Of how the Kingdoms began to be overrun by Grimm. Of a war that was even bloodier and far more devastating than the Great War nearly eighty years ago. Of Salem, who fashioned herself as Queen of Remnant and slaughtered everyone who stood against her, even her own allies when they lost their usefulness. Of how Ruby was chosen as the Fall Maiden. And how she was sent back ten years in time to the snowy landscape of Atlas. And it was all confirmed by the tales in her Log.

General James Ironwood stared at the future form of Ruby Rose. The woman who was sitting with a smirk on her face and was looking far older than her twenty five years of age suggested. The woman was strong but she had so many cracks it was a wonder she hadn't broke yet.

"So, what will you do now?" Ironwood asked, staring intently at the woman.

"I don't know, really. Relax a bit. Hunt down Salem and her allies. Kill them most likely. Relax for the rest of my life."

"Sounds like you're going to be busy." He said, looking at the woman in pity.

"Yep, best get started then. Going to have to build a new Crescent Rose. Can't go around using Mercy forever."

"How did you get General Ironwood's revolver?" Winter asked, an eyebrow raised at the woman.

"It was a birthday gift from my god-father. Given to me as he died in my arms." Ruby said, her eyes now wet with unshed tears. "Worst birthday ever." She tried to joke out as she furiously wiped at her eyes.

"How many survived as a whole? Those you were closest with." Ironwood asked, placing a hand over his god-daughter's, trying to offer her some level of comfort.

"Besides me, three. Coco Adel. The Bullet Mistress and Fashionista Extraordinaire. Lie Ren. The Poisoned Lotus and Blade King. Jaune Arc. The Unbreakable Shield, Atlas Supreme and Destiny's Knight. They were the only ones to survive out of Beacon over ten years. From a school of five hundred."

"What were your moniker's?" Winter asked, looking curiously at the time traveler.

"Ruby Rose. The Red Reaper. The Bloody Maiden. Silver Death. Remnant's Light. We were the last hopes of Remnant. And hopefully they can rebuild now with the death of Salem."

"How is it you were sent here if you were fighting Salem?" Ironwood asked, already forming plans to deal with the Witch and her associates.

"No idea. Salem had magic no one even knew about. Not even Ozpin despite how much he knew. But I think it reacted with the powers of the Maiden and my silver eyes and this whole multiverse theory started."

"Ah, an infinite number of universes all created by a different action. And I assume your arrival has now splintered the world you knew and ours." Ironwood said. "Your arrival may have saved this world."

"Yep, or doomed it to destruction. But let's not focus on that."

"Let's. Now, one final question. How do you feel on being an Atlas Specialist, Miss Rose?"

"I'd like that very much. Anything to get me back in the field." Ruby said, a cruel smile on her face and Ironwood could almost see the ways of which she was going to destroy Salem and her associates.

"Good. Thankfully with your Hunter's Log, we can create a whole new identity for you with this. The only thing we need is a new name." Ironwood said and shivered as he felt a chill go down his back as Ruby gave a mischievous smirk.

"Daddy, it's so good to see you!" Ruby cried as she blitzed into her semblance with rose petals flowing behind her before she latched onto the General's arm. "It's been so long since you've came by for dinner. It's me, Rouge."

"You're no daughter of mine!" The General cried out playfully, memories of little Ruby doing the same thing coming to the fore.

"Why don't you love me, dad!" Rouge Ironwood cried out, fake tears in her eyes. All the while Winter looked on in amusement at the pairs antics.

Ruby looked out of the window that took up most of the General's office, staring at the shattered moon hanging in the sky, a fierce look in her eyes. She wasn't going to let Salem get anymore foot holds in this world. She was going to stop her. She was going to succeed.

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 **Well, let me know what you all think. Leave a review or PM if you have any questions or just want to leave something nice for me.**

 **Mad Man in the Flesh out!**


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